Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky.

Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said.

Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.'

"I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture.

Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary.

He asked if anyone could give an explanation.

Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast.

Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky."

A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke.

The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information.